FROM the four North of England breeds on show at Skipton, it was the red rosette-winning pen of 10 North of England Mule ewe lambs form the Throup family – Joe, Nancy and their son George – that topped the trade at £128 per head.

The sale, which welcomed 4188 ewe lambs which cashed in to average £59.39, included shows of Swaledale, North of England Mule, Dales Mule and Masham ewe lambs in pens of 10 to be judged by Abi Brown, Mark Elliot and Bernard Simpson.

Leading the way was the Mule pen from the Throups, of Berwick Intake Farm, Draughton, whose toppers were sired by a home-bred ram lamb and a Gordon Rawsthorne Lunesdale tup. They were knocked down for that top price to Neil and Jackie Dalby, Darley.

The 2235 Mule ewe lambs from North of England Mule Association members levelled at £59.12, down £17.96 compared to 2017, while the 631 Mule ewe lambs from non-NEMSA members averaged £58.16, a drop of £16.28. Leading the non-NEMSA section at £71 was a pen from RG and H Preece, Roeburndale.

The second top price of £125 was paid for the first prize pen of Swaledale ewe lambs from father and daughter team, John and Rose Tennan, of Low Bucker House Farm, Bordley, who were winning this class for the third year in a row. Their top pen, of which the majority were by a John Porter ram, sold to Threshfield's Angus Dean.

With the 900 Swaledale youngsters averaging £50.41 (-£1.99p), the second prize pen from Ian Wilson, Winterburn, realsied £115.

Father and son duo, Joe and Trevor Stoney, from Bewerley, Pateley Bridge, headed up the Dales Mule section with a pen by a Bernard Simpson ram, which went on to sell to Anthony and Heather Hewetson, Bank Newton, for £100. The 251 Dales Mules averaged £69.94 (-£8.20).

Winning the Masham entry was a pen from Brian Ashby, Norwood, Otley, which later sold to TGT and PJ Strickland, Kendal, for £95. The 169 Masham lambs averaged £62.92 (-£7.71).